Dining

Skills
Alyssa Dennise D. Pacson
 Dining With Dignity
• Dining skills, table manners, and hosting a meal are
extremely important in business. Poor dining habits have
been known to derail a business deal, stall a promotion,
halt a job interview, or stop a sale. Our complete training
in dining etiquette covers everything you need to know.
 Select a good restaurant
• Select a good restaurant. The quality of the restaurant is
a reflection of you as a professional. It doesn’t have to be
expensive, but it should be clean, the food tasty, the
servers friendly, and the location easily accessible to your
client. This requires you to be familiar with the restaurant,
and is not the time to base your decision on the price
point of the lunch special or on Yelp reviews.
 Location, location, location
• Where you sit determines the success of the meal.
Request a table or section of the restaurant that has a
good view, and is not near the kitchen or restroom.
Confirm the table on the day of the lunch or dinner
meeting.
 Familiarize yourself with the
menu
• Be prepared to offer your guest menu suggestions. As the host,
it’s up to you make your guest comfortable with his or her food
choice. If you say, “I had a late breakfast, I’m just going to have
a cup of soup,” it puts your guest in the uncomfortable position
of eating a larger meal alone. Offer a few selections and
encourage your guest to order whatever is desired. Always
order comparable to your guest, regardless of your hunger
level.
 Know basic table etiquette
skills:
• Drinks on right; bread on left.
• Your napkin is not a hankie.
• Keep your tie down when eating your meal.
• Spoon your soup away from your body.
• “Continental Style,” using two hands, is the most efficient style of dining.
• Cut only one piece of food at a time.
• Don’t ask for ketchup or steak sauce.
• Pace yourself according to how fast or slow your guest is eating. Don’t be the first to finish.
• Pass items at the table counter clockwise.
• Salt and pepper are sent around the table together.
• Break off one small piece of bread at a time and don’t butter the entire roll.
 Eyes off your mobile device
• You may not even realize that you constantly glance at your
smartphone or tablet every few minutes. Your cellphone
should be out of sight, unless you are expecting an
important call that is pertinent to your lunch meeting. If
you’ll be referring to your tablet as a part of your business
lunch, be sure notifications are turned off. Otherwise, you’re
at risk of a tweet or text distracting your guest.
 Your doggie doesn’t get a
bone
• At a business meal, it’s not professional to ask for the
leftovers. Also pass on the urge to take home the steak
bones for your pooch. Your goal is to conduct a
professional business meeting over a meal, and doggie
bags and business don’t mix.
 Stay away from the stick

• Grabbing a toothpick on your way out of the restaurant

drops your professionalism down a notch (or ten). Don’t
let the last image your guest has of you be one with a
stick hanging from your teeth.